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Statement From Virginia Tech President, Charles W. Steger

BLACKSBURG, Va., March 20, 2003 – Recently, the Board of Visitors passed a resolution regarding a new approval process for meetings on campus. The resolution was passed conditional upon a review of the Attorney General's office to determine its constitutionality. The Attorney General's Office has advised us that the resolution is not constitutional, and as a result there will be no review by the President's Office of invited speakers or meetings on campus. We will proceed with the process that has been in place.

Arguably, free speech may be the most precious of our freedoms. Moreover, the university manifestation of free speech, academic freedom, is the cornerstone of scholarship. As a university, one of our primary functions is to help students develop the capacity to think critically in order to evaluate new ideas and we have the greatest confidence in our students' ability to do so.